


Last Aria

by hwannies



Category: TREASURE (Korea Band)
Genre: "cute", Alternate Universe, Angst, Bittersweet, Flashbacks, Ghosts, I can’t write endings, Last Dance, Last Kiss, M/M, Sad Bang Yedam, Sad Hamada Asahi, Sad Yoon Jaehyuk, Songfic, Watanabe Haruto is Mentioned, asahi in a dress, based off aria by jung jinwoo, choi hyunsuk is mentioned, cute marigold field scene, did i mention asahi in a dress, everyone is in love, everyone is sad, kanemoto yoshinori is mentioned, kind of?, last everything, letting go, lonely bang yedam..., singer bang yedam, that should be a tag, up to interpretation, why do all my songfics have the same genre of sad, yearning yedam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwannies/pseuds/hwannies
Summary: They're already dead, the couple in the middle who dance their lives away, the ballgown of the younger one spinning slightly above ground as they twirl. They died in those outfits, shot down somewhere, some time ago.They're already dead, and this is their last dance.—Jaehyuk and Asahi learn the art of letting go. Yedam learns (and yearns) for the art of loving.
Relationships: Hamada Asahi/Yoon Jaehyuk
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Last Aria

**Author's Note:**

> ohmy god yall this isnt in lapslock ...slap me rn .
> 
> sahi in a dress and the ballroom setting 100% inspired by thiccheart's idea about minchan in dresses in a ballroom!!
> 
> uh, maybe listen to aria as u read? the song is in the tags haha. and if u wanna get into it, only listen to aria as u read. experience the dance with them!!! *starts sobbing* hehehe *hacks*
> 
> oh also visualization helper i guess yedams wearing the 2020 mama outfit which was what this was inspired from initially aight lets go

Yedam looks on at the couple in the empty ballroom, watches their gazes as he sings the song they've chosen. It's the only song on the queue.

They never seem to look like they intend on adding anymore songs anytime soon, though, too lost in each other's eyes while they spin round and round. The starry twinkle in their gazes tells Yedam that much, as he sings along to the instrumental playing behind him. Pieces of crystals that hang off the chandelier sway lightly with every first note of the measure that the pianist accents on as the music builds up, nearing the end once again, while the other lights (that look like oil lanterns, but are really electric, to fit the modern times) flicker once in a while along with the song. The low hum of the bass cello can be felt across floor of the giant ballroom, but no one minds it. It gives a sensation that the world is still moving even in the still ballroom, where the ground never moves.

Where it's no one but Yedam, the couple, and the musicians behind him, the world moves. Will move on if everyone in the room drops dead now.

Yedam chuckles at that thought while he's singing, but manages to keep it in well enough so that his light breaths of laughter don't slip through. Anyone who's really listening to him can tell he's smiling into the gold-encrusted microphone (a custom, from a couple he performed for so long ago), looking down at the ground, even though there's nothing to smile about.

They're already dead, the couple in the middle who dance their lives away, the ballgown of the younger one spinning slightly above ground as they twirl. They died in those outfits, shot down somewhere, some time ago.

They're already dead, and this is their last dance.

-

"Jae!" Asahi calls, standing under the sunlight next to the tree, holding his arms out and ready to accept the older within his embrace. His hair has a bit of shine—a result of the sunlight, and maybe the small amount of product he put in it too—and his long, baby pink dress stands still, waiting with him, off-the-shoulder top exposing his collarbones. The sunlight nearly creates a spotlight where he's standing, rays casting themselves beside Asahi at the perfect angle.

"Sahi!" Jaehyuk yells back, running towards Asahi through the marigolds, white blazer long forgotten on the ground as he charges forward, loosened tie running with him, white blouse ruffling in the wind. A smile graces his face as he gets closer to Asahi, his _love_ , the only person within his line of vision, and he focuses on Asahi's dimple, his favorite part of the younger, ready to hold him tight and never let him go.

It never seems like he'll get there, with how long he's been running. But suddenly they're two inches away from each other, merely a knuckle's length apart and Asahi closes his eyes, fully prepared to hug Jaehyuk from where he stands. The older reaches, reaches out for Asahi's waiting hand and—

He's gone.

Asahi nearly falls forward, a bit startled when he feels nothing, swiping through the air, his hands landing on the sides of his arms wrapped around him. The petals of the marigolds flutter about as he stands still for a few moments, in a daze from what just happened. He blinks once, twice, three times, processing it.

Ever so slowly, he crumples down to the ground below, continuing to hold himself within his arms as his knees buckle, weak. His dress crinkles with him as he closes in further, as if it accepts his defeat with him. It's a quick defeat, because he knows.

He sits there for a while, moving only to splay out his dress around him so he can sink to the side, head on his arm. The sunlight is no longer the warmth that he needs now, no longer bringing the warmth of happiness to him, of that waiting for a reward that would've never came anyways. Instead it's a frightening chill, seeping its way into the cracks of Asahi's heart and setting the broken pieces on fire. The spotlight it had created moments prior becomes too close, taking on the feeling of paparazzi, a little too close for comfort. It's like the lights are being shoved into his face, like the whole world is watching. Watching him fail to keep the person he loves with him.

He can't just lie and say he isn't scared of that, because he is. He is scared of that, scared of them watching him fail. Failing on his own, he thinks, would be okay, but failing like this? Embarrassing, really.

His eyes flicker down to his hands, nervously trembling. They cry for him; both for the embrace of Jaehyuk, and the tears that Asahi can no longer let fall, at least for the moment.

Asahi knows Jaehyuk isn't there. What just happened was merely an illusion of the mind to cope. It wasn't the first time it's happened, nor was it the last time it would.

He knows he wasn't able to save his lover that evening. He remembers how Jaehyuk sensed it, looked up, put himself in front of Asahi and taken the hit before Asahi could turn around back into the conversation, how he was yanked out of the room, away from Jaehyuk, just like how the older had pulled his arm through the fields the day before. He knows he let Jaehyuk die alone, without him. He knows.

And selfishly, he wishes he could be the one to go instead.

-

They're running out of time.

Yedam can see Asahi's figure get lighter and lighter with every passing second, the muted blue dress truly living up to its name of being _muted_ blue. He can see the way Jaehyuk's grip on Asahi changes once the man in the suit has the same realization, looking at Asahi, who merely smiles pitifully back at him. They're saying all they need to with their eyes, so full of love and adoration and _want_. Want for what?

For more time together, more moments to keep with them, for this last journey to never end. For more of each other.

Despite all they would like to say out loud, all that comes out their mouths is merely an airy, light, small murmur of "one, two, three" to keep in time with the beats of the song. They step right, left, then twirl. Left, right, then twirl. Jaehyuk dips Asahi every three cycles.

Asahi moves his hand for a quick second to wipe his tears on his arm when he hears Yedam's soft voice echo through the chamber, the tears that aren't tears slipping down the couple's faces once Yedam sings, " _So I hope you can forget me. I hope you'll live your life, that would be better._ "

Now, Asahi's not really the crier of the duo, never has been. It had always been Jaehyuk who got emotional over moments like these, where it was them against the world, where it felt like was only them _within_ the world.

Only as those lyrics ring throughout the ballroom do his tears really begin to fall, and he lets them. Jaehyuk knows the lyrics are what Asahi is trying to tell him as soon as the younger's eyes have glossed over, and he holds onto Asahi's waist a little bit tighter to continue touching him for a moment more.

He won't forget Asahi, how could he? That would be a betrayal not only to their relationship, but to himself, going against all his own personal morals. If he were to forget Asahi, an external reason would have to be the cause because Jaehyuk couldn't do that to himself, as selfish as it is to go against the other man's wishes.

Jaehyuk wants to tell Asahi that he won't, that there's no way that he would live his life normally, and it _wouldn't_ be better if he let go, because how could it be? Without Asahi, who does he really have left?

But he doesn't say any of that. He can't have Asahi dwelling on that idea as his last thought, so he continues to dance with him, to twirl like there's no tomorrow in sight, even if there really _is_ no tomorrow, for them.

A tear slips down Yedam's own face as he continues to sing, watery eyes from the completely overwhelming amount of emotions radiating throughout the ballroom. He watches it drop onto the music stand below him, running down the pole that keeps the stand up.

Each word is enunciated clearer with every time the song plays again, having Yedam slowly memorizing it after singing it so many times, and it only now hits him why they've chosen it.

" _It was such a beautiful summer._ " Jaehyuk whispers as Yedam sings the same line, bringing a hand to Asahi's face and stroking his cheekbone. Asahi looks down at the hand and back tearfully at Jaehyuk, pulling the other close to him.

Of course Asahi knows he's talking about their one summer in Osaka, the one they've recounted countless times, where they'd run across streets without a care in the world. It was an impromptu trip, one that Jaehyuk had planned the night before they'd left. He'd done it for Asahi, for his birthday and what could the younger do other than follow his lead? He always did.

That trip was a main marker of their freedom, where they didn't have to care about how much time they had left. Where they were free to do the things they wanted to without even having to worry about if the other would disappear right before their eyes.

Asahi buries his face in Jaehyuk's shoulder, slightly embarrassed at the recollection. Yedam smiles at the gentle sight, his own eyes glistening with a fresh set of unshed tears.

There's no weight on Jaehyuk now, unlike when they had walked in. The hand that rests on Jaehyuk's shoulder feels like nothing, Asahi's head on the other shoulder merely a feather. It calls to Jaehyuk's attention how much time they have, or don't have, left.

Jaehyuk beckons Asahi to lift his head up with a nudge of his hand, so that he can see the younger as much as he's able to before their time runs out. Once the younger does so, Jaehyuk holds onto the back of Asahi's neck and thumbs over it gently, feeling whatever there is left of him. He looks at the curve of Asahi's eyebrows, down to the curve of his nose, and lands to the curve of his lips that frown with pity. It's a pity that Jaehyuk will be the one left alone tonight.

The chandelier that hangs above flickers a bit then dims, romanticizing the air in the room, perfect for sensuality if it wasn't for the situation they were in. However, Asahi becomes harder to see in the low light, and it has Jaehyuk stumbling over the younger's dress more times than before.

"I'm sorry." Jaehyuk mumbles. Asahi shakes his head, pulling Jaehyuk even closer. The sorry isn't for just the dress; that's just a cover. It's for what will happen tonight.

The song repeats one more time. The ensemble seems to want to stop, to let the silence be their exit, and they look over to Yedam nervously for guidance. The singer only guides them on for a last round, to let the noise fill the silence that will only make it worse. From watching them the whole night, he's come to the conclusion that they need the white noise in the background, they need this song. To let the end of Asahi's exit not leave Jaehyuk alone with his thoughts, at least for the moment. And so he gestures them to pick up again, once more, and sings.

"Don't go," Jaehyuk croaks, attempting to hold onto what's left of Asahi, the other's hands becoming even more weightless on his waist and shoulder as he begins to fade from Jaehyuk's grasp. "Don't leave me."

Asahi only smiles. "I left you once, Hyuk ah. And we returned. We'll be back together soon." he whispers, caressing Jaehyuk's face just like the other man had done to him moments prior.

Jaehyuk takes a deep breath in preparation for the next few words to come out of his mouth.

"Can I kiss you?"

Asahi stops his movements, looking to Jaehyuk with hazy eyes, barely there now. Jaehyuk stops with him, ever so patient for answer. He'd wait forever for Asahi.

The younger thinks for few seconds, an eternity in Jaehyuk's eyes, and his answer can't come soon enough. "Hurry."

The older nods, sweeping the younger in his arms and dips him with the music. He moves in for a kiss and—

nothing.

_What?_

He's kissing him, it's clear to everyone that he is. The musicians aw at the sight, and the instruments quiet with less force being used to play them. Yedam continues to sing, but even his voice falters looking onwards at the couple, seeing the moment carry on with the music.

Asahi's hand remains on his cheek, pinky sliding under his jaw to cup it and deepen the kiss, so Asahi _must_ be feeling something.

But Jaehyuk can't feel _anything_.

The edges of Asahi's lips, the soft plush he's used to, the feeling of sinking into them like they're home, it's not... _there_.

And that's confusing him, because Asahi isn't gone yet, no, his outline was still there right before the kiss. His dress is still on the ground—Jaehyuk saw it there if he squinted hard enough—the folds of the bottom part were still distinct under the light. The last of Asahi's torso is still under the palm of his hand, yes, Asahi was still here, Asahi was still _here—_

Jaehyuk's eyes fly open when the feeling doesn't hit him, and it's the last of Asahi he manages to catch within his sight. He feels the light winds of Asahi pulling back after the kiss, smile still on his face, but his eyes are droopy, curving downwards with the weight of the world. He's tired. It's time for him to rest.

"Haruto's leaving, Hyuk ah. I'll greet him when he arrives, and then I'll go." Asahi says, his voice becoming fainter with each coming second. His voice manages to crack somehow between all that, showing a different type of emotion Jaehyuk's never seen before, within all the years they've spent together. As odd as it is, Jaehyuk's a bit glad he'll never hear that again, that longing that was buried deep in Asahi. He doesn't want to hear that pain come from the younger ever again.

"Sahi ya," Jaehyuk calls, running to hug him one last time, not minding that he swipes through the air, through Asahi's body, not paying any sort of attention to the looks he knows he must be getting. It's the action that matters to him now, and the younger sees the effort he makes for their goodbye. Jaehyuk holds himself tight, pretending it's Asahi, and the other man nearly cries again. "Before you leave him, tell Ruto that I'll be coming soon. We'll meet again, A-Asahi."

And Asahi chuckles, a solemn one. "Our last time will come. We'll meet again, Jaehyuk."

He's gone.

And this time, Jaehyuk's the one that's left alone.

-

Once the song is finished, the musicians begin to pack up their instruments at the flick of Yedam's wrist, a signal that the event is over. The singer walks over to Jaehyuk, who hasn't moved from his spot, eyes tightly shut.

Yedam knows that sort of tightness. He's seen it so many times before, and it's not something he finds uncommon anymore throughout each of these small gigs. He can tell from the way Jaehyuk is gripping his jacket, the way the eyes are shut, forming little crinkles at the eyebrows, but his cheeks remain relaxed. Jaehyuk's hoping that when he opens his eyes, it's all a dream.

"Sir," Yedam begins, gauging Jaehyuk's reaction. The man doesn't move. "On behalf of all of us, we were glad to help you tonight." He places a careful hand on Jaehyuk's shoulder, watching for any signs that he'll shrug it off.

Jaehyuk spins around and throws himself onto Yedam in one swift motion, the breeze of the action brushing Yedam's hair out of his face on it's own. Yedam hugs back, albeit a bit awkwardly as Jaehyuk is quite transparent himself, and pats the older's back in the most comforting way he could.

"Thank you for, for playing the song a-as he left." Jaehyuk whispered, voice no louder than the highest notes of the piano that will remain in the ballroom. The singer only nods, content that his choice worked in making the exit a bit less painful.

Musicians now began to crowd by the large doorway, waiting for Yedam's word to leave. The clicks and zips of the instrument cases start ceasing, chatter dying down as the group prepares to head home for the evening. "Where do you plan on going now, sir?" Yedam asks, leading the older over to where his microphone case was. He places the head in carefully and bends the stand, fitting it in on the other side of the case, latching it up. Jaehyuk simply watches, lost in the loud clacking of latches, and he hasn't let go of Yedam's blazer. The younger singer supposes it's alright for now.

(And he lets out a little chuckle at that thought, because of _course_ it's alright that Jaehyuk's clung onto him. It tends to happen to the person that's left behind, and tonight is no different, in that sense.)

"I'll find my way to Haruto," Jaehyuk answers after they're both at the doorway as well. Yedam's pointed the musicians outward, and they start to make their way to their cars, leaving the two alone. "After today, after this week, I'll find Haruto take care of him until I'm gone too. For Asahi."

It's not a shock, the sudden answer after a silence, and Yedam nods along to every word.

-

No matter how many times he's done this, saying goodbye has to be the best part.

Hearing what these people are to do after their eternal loved one is gone brings an odd sort of comfort to Yedam, lets him settle after these events, even if that's a little off-putting. It's a resolution to the climax that is the entire night.

He makes the mental notes for each couple, and some of their endings make sense when watching their relationship the entire night. Some don't, at least not to him, but he's sure these goals they set are personal to their own relationship, and that makes him smile. Every relationship is different, details intertwined in the memories only they know, only they hold so close to them.

(Like how Haruto must have been important to Asahi, but not Jaehyuk. How Haruto was the one who carried Asahi's soul out the room, leaving Jaehyuk here, and yet, Jaehyuk knows of Haruto, and knows of his importance, especially to Asahi, so he was determined to lead Haruto in this part of life. Haruto remembers Asahi, but not Jaehyuk, which is why they couldn't go together. This slightly confusing web leaves Yedam wondering what memories they shared with this "Haruto", both individually and together.)

When he finally gets home, he thanks his chauffeur and walks out, closing the door behind him, microphone case in hand. He stands in front of his home and looks up, grinning widely, before pulling out his keys to welcome himself inside. The jangling makes a noise to fill the silence once he steps in, and he's greeted with their echo.

It's only him in this house he calls home. His chauffeur is really all he has around him (save for the musical ensemble, who he rarely talks to outside of the gigs for reasons he doesn't really know), and they've grown quite close over the years they've worked together. It's in the chauffeur way, casual talking partners on car rides to different evening events. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sometimes (well, maybe a bit too often to only be _sometimes_ ), Yedam wishes he had something more. Watching these couples say their goodbyes so many times should mean he's grown used to it, this feeling of seeing loved ones depart from those they love. It should mean that Yedam no longer cares, that it's merely a part of the process, nothing out of the ordinary.

But all that seems to have happened over the years is an increasing want for something like...what he saw tonight, for instance. The way they spun like there was no one else in the room, Jaehyuk reaching out to Asahi as he left, the desperation and pain and adoration in their eyes whenever they looked at each other, like even in their conditions, they were still the most beautiful people in the world in the other person's eyes. _That's_ what he wants.

When he's gone (a when, not an if), he'd like to know there's someone still after him, thinking of him in such a way that makes his heart nearly burst with an overwhelming amount of emotions. Joy? Sadness? He doesn't know. A weird sort of excitement, if anything.

He's set his microphone down next to his fireplace in the living room, something that's basically habit at this point, and looks to the picture that he has on the side of his family. They don't smile at him, stoic expressions staring straight ahead. He's sitting in the middle on a grandparent's lap, carrying the same expression, and he wonders if that was the start of his journey for love. The lack of it in his home from anyone other than his parents, who held him so dearly to their hearts, who he keeps together by remembering them as his life moves on. (It's more like his journey to help others love, for now at least. He doesn't remember the last time he's talked to a person for the purposes of romancing them.)

Patting the picture twice and smiling, Yedam gets up with a groan, walking to his staircase with light feet. He only hears his footsteps as he walks up the stairs to the bathroom, the echoing that each step causes too deafening for his liking. His bedroom welcomes him just like his front door and he changes into casual wear, silk pajamas smooth on his skin. After washing up and lounging for a bit, he decides to sleep to prepare for tomorrow's event.

(It's another younger couple like the one tonight. Hyunsuk and Yoshinori were—are—their names. In the pictures they sent him for preparation, they'd interlocked arms, both of them flashing the same smile that made their eyes disappear with glee, and seemed that the smaller one was chuckling, mouth agape. Their respective free arms rested horizontally against their bodies like they were a couple getting married. A gleaming gold buckle is hidden under both their arms, and Yedam had peered closer to examine the logos. A tiger and a dragon.

Ah. That's where things went wrong.)

When he finally turns the lights off, Yedam thinks about how it would feel to really love. To really care for such things like love.

**Author's Note:**

> hayooo this is one my favorite concepts fr im. i like this one a lot writing this satisfied the fuck outta me...yearning yedam :]....sahi in a dress :] wish it could be better and someone could most definitely write this better than me but Whatever this might be one of my favorite ones ive written..woo so now u have this. i am so sorry yall i cant write to save my life some shit reads weirdly but the message is there!!! why did i have to emphasize yedam was a lonely fuck??? becuz this was supposed to be yedam centric. sorry for yearning.
> 
> find me at @HWANNlES on twitter (the i is a lowercase L)!  
> see you next time! :D


End file.
